Divorced, Beheaded, LOVED! My Review of "Six the Musical" on Broadway!

 

If you're any sort of Broadway or West End theatre fan you've likely heard of a little show called Six the Musical. I had the pleasure of seeing this beloved musical on Broadway, and it was spectacular.

Six Her-Story

Six the Musical, the brainchild of Lucy Moss and Toby Marlow, premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2017. Originally starting as a college production, Six became world-renowned. The West End show traveled across the pond to Broadway and Australia, with the Broadway cast’s opening night being cancelled due to our bestie, COVID-19. However, the Queens of New York had their opening on October 3. The original cast featured Adrianna Hicks, Andrea Macaset, Abby Mueller, Brittney Mack, Samantha Pauly, and Anna Uzele.

The Queens From My Performance

Mallory Maedke as Catherine of Aragon - Mallory Maedke is a real-life queen. This star of an actress went on as Jane Seymour for the coveted Tony Awards. With only twelve hours notice. As Aragon, Maedke blew the roof off the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, nailing the riffs in “No Way," the first solo number in the show, bringing a new energy to the character. I especially loved the sass that she gave to Aragon and her voice is unmatched.

Andrea Macaset as Anne Boleyn - An OBC Queen! Andrea Macaset was one of the actresses in this musical I was desperately hoping I would get to see, and let me just say, her performance did not disappoint. Boleyn is full of sass, sarcasm, and sexiness, and there’s really no one better to portray her. With a whole new ending riff in her solo number “Don’t Lose Ur Head,” and a slew of some risque jokes, Macaset is the perfect Anne Boleyn.

Keri Rene Fuller as Jane Seymour - Jane Seymour is arguably one of the more difficult roles to portray in Six. Being the “only one [Henry VIII] truly loved” is a lot to live up to. While her predecessor was an absolutely perfect actress for this role, Keri Rene Fuller brought a whole lot of heart. Seymour is often seen as the motherly figure in the cast, and Fuller’s interpretation solidified that idea for me. Her maternal feeling and insane vocals made “Heart of Stone" one of my favorite songs from this production.

Ayla Ciccone-Burton as Anna of Cleves - Ayla Ciccone-Burton’s portrayal of Cleves provided me with mixed feelings. While I enjoyed her performance of this high-energy divorcee, I do have to say I feel she was the weak link in this show. I liked “Get Down” and Ciccone-Burton’s singing, but throughout the rest of the show I was lost on her character, and didn’t really see her personality shine through elsewhere.

Samantha Pauly as Katherine Howard - Another OBC Queen! Sam Pauly has arguably the most intense portrayal of Katherine Howard. Not only does “All You Wanna Do” make me bawl nearly every time I listen to it, but her contrasting humor is off the charts. And the infamous K. Howard Roast is utterly hilarious. I find that Pauly’s ability to grow as a character in her song every single night is astounding. Howard goes from a young girl to a grown woman who realizes her past of abuse. Every night, flawlessly.

Brennyn Lark as Catherine Parr - Brennyn Lark began performances as Parr a mere week before I went to the show. A week. You would think she’s been there since the beginning! Lark’s performance was rather different from her two predecessors’. She turned comedic lines into heartfelt ones, made “I Don’t Need Your Love” almost comparable to the ballad “Heart of Stone,” then brought the energy back in “I Don’t Need Your Love (Remix)” and the “Megasix.”  She was incredible.

My Thoughts on The Show

Loves

• The Lighting - Okay, so the lightning design of this show was flawless and stunning, no wonder it was nominated for a Tony.
• The Costumes - I loved the rock costumes in this show. Each is unique and I absolutely adore that each swing has their own look. Gabriella Slater deserved that Tony.

Dislikes

• No Costume Reveal - In the musical, Anna of Cleves has a tearaway costume that gets ripped off during “Get Down.” In this performance, however, it didn’t happen, which was rather upsetting.
• Costume Malfunctions - Also, Cleves’ tearaway pants kept falling off, so she left during a part of the show to get them fixed. The beauty of live theatre, I guess.

Overall, Six was my absolute favorite Broadway musical. I loved the concert element and every part fell into place perfectly. The energy and dynamics brought by the actresses were so flawless, making this production amazingly perfect.